Mindjacked
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: When things go haywire at the NXT: TakeOver: London pay per view, the cracks start forming in some friendships as others strengthen... but why is the madness happening with everyone and who'll walk out alive? (Crossover with Lucha Underground)
1. Chapter 1

He watched them in absolute fury… the way they hugged and how the Demon King was spinning her around in his arms.

But his fury was scripted, Samoa Joe knew that… he couldn't remember a time he was ever mad at them, they were basically siblings to him.

Standing up, he reluctantly went through with the next part of the script… they were two of his closest friends after all, he didn't really want to hurt them.

Joe ran at them and ripped Amanda out of Finn's arms before tossing her to the mat and the Irishman into the steel cage wall, Amanda jumping up and kicking the backs of Joe's knees out.

"Good girl. I taught you well." Joe whispered as Amanda had locked in a leglock on him… before he pried her arms off and yanked her up easily, tossing her into the steel cage wall after a punch to the ribcage.

Unfortunately, both had a bit too much force as Finn's and Joe's eyes widened when they heard the sickening cracks. Amanda fell to the mat, her arms around her ribcage and her screaming in agony as Finn immediately rushed to the petite diva and tried to pry her arms away.

Amanda let out another scream that broke both their hearts, Joe snapping out of his shock and walking towards them.

"Mandy, I'm so sorry!" Joe says, trying to touch her but Amanda screamed at him as her alternative to yelling and Finn glared at Joe. "Finn, it was an accident!" He says.

"I heard her damn ribs break, Joe! So did you! All because of your actions, now back the fuck off before I shove my foot so far down your throat that they'll have to remove your vocal cords!" Finn growls, yelling the last part as he cradled Amanda close to him and did his best to soothe the crying brunette.

Amanda's eyes were snapped shut as Joe gave one more look that emphasized his regret and sorrow before leaving the ring area, Amanda taking slow and shallow breaths as it felt like a fire poker was lodged into her left side from all the screaming and deep breaths would make the pain increase to where she felt like she was strapped to the devil's table and being tortured.

Flashbacks to the horribly reminiscent chaos that happened at the TNA Awards in December 2006 flooded Joe's mind as he remembered Kurt shouting that it was personal before trapping the small brunette he had dragged out to the ramp with him into the ankle lock and breaking her ankle.

The small brunette that looked eerily similar to the one that Finn was holding in the ring as paramedics rushed past Joe and down to ringside.

His mind racing and instinct to protect her in overdrive, Finn's arms tightened around Amanda as the paramedics got into the ring, the frightened 25 year old diva hanging on tighter to the Irishman.

"Not again, please… no." Amanda cried softly, Finn knowing why she hated stretchers and ambulances.

Amanda was carefully placed onto it after the steel cage was raised… and Joe was in the back, trying to think straight.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! What the hell is wrong with me?! That wasn't me out there, I love that girl to death, I would never hurt her!" Joe whispered, yelling the last part… and then he heard it.

" _That girl you love to death? Long gone, replaced by that bitch!"_

"What gives you the right to say that?! Amanda is loyal, caring, the best surrogate little sister anyone could ask for!" Joe shouted, an evil chuckle being the voice's response.

" _If she's so loyal, where was she when I was Maxine and had been kicked out of what you all consider family?!"_

And then he remembered….the dark haired woman he had seen earlier.

"Catrina…" Joe says.

Heavily sedated, the next thing Amanda remembered clearly was waking up in the ICU of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and seeing Finn by her side, her small right hand in between his own, much larger hands and him cleaned off and dressed in normal clothes as Amanda noticed the other people in the room… Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and AJ Styles.

"Three cracked and two broken badly… and I called them." Finn says, the three carefully walking over.

"I thought you guys were in Japan…" Amanda says sleepily, AJ lightly brushing her hair back in a fatherly manner and Amanda feeling comforted by the familiar touch.

"Family before business with us, babydoll… always." AJ says.

"And those matches are from six months ago… AJ's joining you two in WWE and soon after that, so will Luke and I." Karl says, him and Amanda hugging before she and Luke hugged.

But Amanda wouldn't settle back into sleep yet. Heading to find some coffee for themselves, AJ, Luke and Karl left Amanda alone with Finn and Amanda looked at him.

He knew what that look meant… within seconds, Finn was stretched out on the bed and Amanda was on her unharmed right side and in his arms as her head rested on his shoulder and he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, Amanda letting herself fall back into sleep.

Comfort was a very basic human need… and both knew that too well.


	2. Chapter 2

Cleaned off, dressed to withstand the London winter and finally ready, Samoa Joe left the arena and headed out into the indoor parking garage.

"Very naughty, what you did to that lady earlier."

Joe jumped out of his skin and spun around, seeing a girl no older than 20 and just a bit taller than Amanda.

"It wasn't intentional." Joe says, the girl letting a humorless chuckle escape her mouth.

"Try telling that to her blue eyed buddy when you go to see her in the hospital, you think he's gonna let you near her? He sees you as the monster you are." The girl says.

"Monster? Listen kid-" Joe says.

"It's Heather. Not kid." The girl says, anger slipping through.

"Listen Heather, I think of both of those two as family and they think of me as the same way. We all have our blowups at times but we stick together." Joe says.

"Yeah. Because a family bond is so strong." Heather says sarcastically.

"Not all are, I know a kid from a broken home when I see one." Joe says, Heather snapping her head towards him in rage.

"You don't know anything! You're out there in that ring brutally beating people to within inches of their lives and sending them back to their nice, caring families while you go on in this business for the money!" Heather growled.

"I didn't mean to hurt Mandy, I never would intentionally hurt her! She's been through hell and back, her past wasn't so nice either! And here you are, judging me because of what you see on Tv and not caring that even though it's scripted, injuries happen!" Joe yells, finally losing what was his patience.

Joe left, getting into his rental car and driving off, Heather deciding to follow him.

At sometime before 3 in the morning, Amanda stirred slightly and opened her eyes halfway when she heard snoring… only to find Finn asleep with his arms around her in a protective embrace and his head resting on her chest, right over her heart.

"Wake me next time you have a nightmare, Balor." Amanda whispers as she lightly brushed her right hand against his hair, Finn's snores turning into a sleepy growl. "You're gonna hurt your back like that." She says, seeing how he was stretched out, one arm locked around her shoulder, the other around her beaten up ribcage and his left leg wrapped around her knees.

"Don't care… just want to be near you." Finn mumbled in his sleep, Amanda closing her eyes… but she was unaware that Heather had stopped in the doorway and was watching them.

That was until Heather hit the door and jolted both of them awake, Amanda cringing as pain shot through her.

"Who are you?" Amanda asks, Finn straightening himself out and standing up carefully but stopping Amanda from doing so.

"I'm Heather and I just noticed an open door." Heather says.

"Hospitals leave the doors open at times…" Amanda says, pulling her disheveled hair out of its ponytail and running her fingers through it for a second at the same time her tablet chimed, Amanda picking it up and answering the video call. "Shouldn't you be resting? You're at physical therapy most of the day." She says, seeing Seth.

"I saw the pay per view… Joe needs to control himself, he hurt you!" Seth says, Amanda fighting the urge to roll her eyes… but Seth noticed that something was off. "What's bugging at ya, kiddo?" He asks.

"I've known Joe for about 10 years, never once has he been aggressive or physically violent towards me… this is gonna sound weird but I think something's happening to his mind." Amanda says, Seth almost laughing and Finn turning a bit worried… but then both saw how serious she was.

"Mind control?" Seth and Finn say simultaneously.

"It's not the first time someone's been possessed, remember the stories behind _The Exorcist_?" Amanda says… but that sent Heather into a laughing fit, Finn's eyes narrowing at her.

"You find that funny?" Finn asks.

"They have your little friend too much Morphine. Mind control? Really?" Heather says.

"Yeah. And her-" Amanda says, answering her phone. "Yes, Joe?" She asks, Finn turning angered… but calming down when it wasn't Joe on the other end.

"I'm sorry about what happened out there, my brother normally controls himself better." Natia says, startling Amanda.

"I've known Joe for a decade, he's never talked much about his family." Amanda says as Seth and Finn talked.

"Joe has a sister?" Seth asks.

"Don't you think about it, he more or less treats Natia like a daughter instead of a sister." Finn says, Heather leaving as AJ, Luke and Karl walked past her.

"Who the hell was that?" AJ asks.

"Damned if I know, I ain't seen her before." Karl says.

"Me either." Luke says, glancing at Amanda. "That poor girl never gets a full night's sleep." He says.

"Give it time with you two… you looked like you could use it." Natia says.

"I'm not mad, it's just… I just wish he'd calm down at times." Amanda says, not wanting to go further into her theory until she had enough proof.

At the same time, Joe drove through the snow covered streets as _Ain't No Sunshine_ by Bill Withers played on the radio.

He couldn't sleep… he felt horrible because of what happened to Amanda.

Joe started dozing off… and a horn blared, Joe snapping back into awareness and pulling back into his lane of traffic before finding a curb to pull over at and turning the car off, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

"Damn it… I have to find her, apologize properly. That's if Finn will let me with how damn protective he is of her." Joe says quietly, seeing a text from AJ.

' _Where in hell's name are you?'_

' _Driving around. Can't sleep, almost hit another car… how's Mandy?'_ Joe replies.

' _Three ribs on her left side are cracked, two more are broken badly… you almost got into a car crash?! Stay where you are, I'll use the GPS on my phone to find you!'_ AJ replies.

Joe looked outside as the snow continued to fall, hoping things had calmed down wherever Amanda and Finn were.

But he knew the Demon King and Demon Mistress too well… they were far from calm.


	3. Chapter 3

AJ got out of the cab and walked over, examining the rented 2016 Chevy Equinox that Joe had been driving.

"No damage to it. Let me drive." AJ says, the two getting in and AJ starting up the car.

Driving off, the two reached the hospital and AJ parked the car and shut it off.

"She holding up okay?" Joe asks.

"Not gonna lie, she's really shaken… but it seems like something else is playing on her mind. As we were headed back to Mandy's room, a strange person was leaving." AJ says.

"Short, hoodie hiding most of her?" Joe asks, AJ looking at him.

"You ran into her earlier?" AJ asks.

"Things went south pretty fast." Joe says, AJ letting it drop for now as the two got out.

In the hospital room, Amanda had finally scrubbed her makeup off and was curled up in the bed, Finn holding her as Amanda was having trouble settling back into sleep.

"I don't think she'll come back… I sure as hell hope not." Finn says, Amanda feeling calmed like she usually did when she heard his accent… but something still lingered.

"Why did she seem like… she was afraid we would attack her? I know that look when I see it, I've seen it on my own face whenever I looked in the mirror after something went wrong… she looked like she was afraid of herself." Amanda says.

"Afraid enough that… she turns volatile to everyone else to be in her eyes, safe?" Finn says.

Amanda nodded… and groaned when her phone rang, her seeing it was Dean.

"I'm gonna rip his head off when I get back to the states." Amanda says, Finn answering her phone for her.

"Hey, Dean, we're trying to sleep here." Finn says, Dean nearly dropping his phone.

"I don't doubt it but I heard that familiar breaking sound when I watched the pay per view, how many ribs are damaged?" Dean asks.

"Five." Amanda says, Dean turning angered.

"Where is he?!" Dean asks through gritted teeth, Amanda about to talk… but she noticed the tense look in Finn's eyes and saw Joe and AJ.

"How you… feeling? You look tired." Joe says, Amanda lightly gripping Finn's left arm when he tried to stand up and whispering to him to stay calm.

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm hurt and exhausted… but I've been worse than this. Joe, things get a bit crazy at times." Amanda says.

"You're too tiny for me to be punching and throwing you into the cage like that." Joe says.

"That ain't fair! I've taken worse in that ring and you know damn well that I have!" Amanda says, feeling a bit of offense like she normally did whenever anyone talked about her small frame like she was some fragile china doll and Finn lightly rubbing her shoulders to calm her down.

"I just heard Mandy, did Joe bring up her small frame again?" Karl asks after AJ walked over to him, dragging Joe with him.

"Yep, as usual she hated it." AJ says.

"I fucked up now. Last time I said something like that, I got the silent treatment for a week and a half." Joe says.

"She'll calm down, just give her some time." Karl says.

Outside, Luke was leaning against the building wall, the screams piercing through his brain before he saw Sami's rental car stop and Sami get out of it.

"Luke, how is she?!" Sami asks.

"Sleep deprived, sore and angry. What took you so long, traffic?" Luke says.

"Someone ran me off the road, I hit a guardrail." Sami says, startling Luke.

"Joe was nearly involved in an accident earlier." Luke says, setting Sami off.

"Son of a bitch goes and smashes up Mandy's ribcage and then this?! Oh, I will fucking split his head in two!" Sami yells, heading towards the hospital doors but Luke stopped him. "Let go! He's the reason she was carted out on a stretcher!" He says.

"There's already been enough chaos, just let it go! It will be sorted but not this way!" Luke says.

"I just… I worry too much. When she was on a stretcher last time, it was because her brain went haywire and she was seizing." Sami says.

"We all worry about that kid… I've been there before." Luke says, thinking back.

 **1/15/07…**

"He's gonna flip out! They're gonna try to put him in jail for this!" Amanda says, Luke taking the distraught girl into his arms as she paced back and forth, terrified as the test results were taking forever. "Luke, I don't know what to do… I'm not ready for this. And what if Randy just takes off?" She says as tears trailed down her face.

"You have a strong family even if we are dysfunctional at times… it'll be okay." Luke says as they let go, him brushing Amanda's tears away before she checked the results… and closed her eyes, having seen only one line in the screen.

"I'll double check with a blood test later… but that was close. Thanks for staying here with me, Luke." Amanda says after opening her eyes.

As the two headed further into the building and reached the locker room, both jumped back as John punched Randy.

"You fucking asshole!" John yelled.

"We tried to stop but we were too drunk to think logically!" Randy says as Amanda and Luke ran to them.

"John, calm your ass down!" Amanda says after giving her older brother a forceful shove.

At the same time, Luke dragged Randy into the hall and closed the door.

"She looks like she's been crying, what's wrong?! What happened?!" Randy asks.

"No logical thought is putting it mildly, you didn't use protection with her!" Luke says, Randy turning pale like he was on the verge of freaking out.

"Are you saying she's-" Randy tries to ask.

"No. Test came back negative but don't be a damn idiot next time!" Luke says, Randy nodding.

Once John and Luke left, Randy decided to talk to Amanda. But she flinched when he touched her.

"That was too damn close of a call… scares like that can't happen again, especially when both of us are nowhere near ready for kids." Amanda says.

"What about in 10 years? What would you think then?" Randy asks.

"I'd still be terrified… but I do want kids one day." Amanda says, her fingers on her left hand linking into the ones on his right hand.

 **Present time…**

It was around 11 in the morning when Amanda opened her eyes again and looked around, Finn sitting down on the bed.

"When the hell did I fall asleep?" Amanda asks.

"Five in the morning… halfway through _The Runaway Bride_ episode." Finn says.

"I was hoping I wouldn't miss it again but every time they air it, it's usually when one or both of us are asleep." Amanda says, sitting up and gritting her teeth together when pain jarred through her ribcage, Finn lightly rubbing her right shoulder… and noticing a faint scar on it as both heard snoring.

"Sami, rise and shine, pal!" Finn says, Sami jolting into awareness.

"For fuck's sake… I feel old." Sami says, standing up and him and Amanda hugging.

"I thought you were in Canada. Your arm holding up okay?" Amanda says.

"Yep. Got cleared to wrestle again, kiddo." Sami says as they let go… but even as he saw a smile, he noticed the distant look in her eyes.

"Some strange girl showed up here last night… something's off about her." Amanda says.

"What you thinking?" Sami asks.

"Bipolar disorder… that freaks me out a bit, seen its effects first hand. That scar on my shoulder happened as a result of AJ Lee going off her meds after a bad reaction to them. She took a serrated knife to it." Amanda says.

"It's possible but… I don't know…" Finn says.

"It's scary is what it is." All three heard, looked and saw Karl with his left eye bruising.

"Fuck!" Amanda says, the others knowing that her swearing was a normal reaction to this.

"I tried to stop her from walking into the hospital, she clobbered me with a tire iron." Karl says.

"Disorder or not, I'm gonna kick her ass all the way to Manchester!" Amanda says, ripping the blood pressure cuff off and trying to stand up but Finn and Sami stopped her. "Look at what she did to him, she could've broken his eye socket!" She says angrily, Karl resting his hands on her knees.

At the same time, Heather was outside when she heard Luke on the phone.

"I can't get a flight out now, a friend of mine is hurt and in the hospital." Luke says but his wife Amber was short tempered, having been surrounded by crazy relatives all morning.

"You promised you'd be home, it's barely over a week til Christmas! Why are you putting that scrawny, pint sized bitch over your family?!" Amber screamed, Luke hanging up on her… and noticing Heather.

"Get lost. I ain't in the damn mood to deal with you after you attacked Karl." Luke says.

"Did I say I wanted to attack anyone?" Heather asks, Luke noticing the wristband on Heather's right, a neon light strip around it lit up a pale pink.

"You still hurt him." Luke says, sending a quick text to Amanda that consisted of _'She's out here, stay up there and stay calm.'_

' _I'm trying to, buddy.'_ Amanda replied.

"I was scared… and you're making me scared." Heather says, her wristband making a quiet chime as it changed to a similarly pale red.

"She's scared too. And mad and terribly sore, being punched by a 280 pound man will do that. And why the hell is your wristband doing that?" Luke says.

"Let's just say it displays feelings I can't." Heather says as the wristband darkened by a couple of shades to a faded red like that of a raspberry picked too early.

"Like a mood ring…" Luke says, turning nervous and seeing a text from Amanda.

' _What's going on out there, Luke?'_

Looking up to the fifth floor, Luke saw Amanda looking at them from her room, worry etched in her face.

"Yeah… just records a lot more than blood pressure." Heather says, the shade of red returning lighter again.

"She's… so startlingly pale." Luke says after glancing at Amanda, heading back into the hospital as Heather saw a tired Baron Corbin leaving a nearby coffee shop.

"I seriously hope she's okay… damn crazy bastard." Baron growls, Heather walking to him. "Hi. Are you lost?" He says.

"That's a very big answer." Heather says, her band going to the raspberry red.

"How the hell does it do that?!" Baron asks.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I read how to use it and then threw the booklet in the trash." Heather says.

Baron nodded, finishing his coffee and the band turned to a stormy blue grey.

"Huh… kind of the same shade as Mandy's nail polish… well, the one she wore last week." Baron says.

"Well it means I'm feeling comforted somehow, that's the blue scale. Comfort and relaxation." Heather says.

"So you mean… each color is like a different emotion and the darker it is, the stronger it is?" Baron asks.

"You're about the fastest person to work it out." Heather says.

"Thing is, she only wears the stormy color when she feels kicked down by life." Baron says.

"Ah, that's usually under the greens." Heather says.

"I rarely see her wear green… except around the holidays. Well, I better go check on her. Take care now." Baron says, heading off towards the hospital.

Reaching the room she was in, Baron smiled a bit when he saw that Amanda was awake… but it dropped off when he saw the tired look in her hazel eyes.

"Be careful around her if she's holding a weapon. She whacked Karl with a tire iron." Amanda says, Baron turning confused.

"She did?... She seemed very calm to me just now." Baron says.

"Joe was calm yesterday… before the cage match. Someone's gone and jacked his mind." Amanda says, Baron covering his mouth as he laughed… and stopping when Amanda glared at him.

"Sure. Well… what got me was that she has this wristband which reads her emotions in color and when I walked over to her, it changed to light blue… she said that meant comforted." Baron says.

"When I was half asleep last night, I swore I saw a light purple from under her jacket sleeve… but I thought I was out of it." Amanda says.

"Well thinking about it, purple is between blue and red. Blue means comfort and red I guess, means negative so… those are opposite, if you're comforted you're not angry and the other way too, so I suppose… purple might be feeling neutral, maybe?" Baron says.

"Maybe…" Amanda says, her eyelids feeling heavy. "I hate these damn meds." She mutters, feeling his hand rest on her back before his arm wrapped around her shoulders and she rested her head on his shoulder.

 **Meanwhile…**

"I'm telling you, Mandy's not crazy." Joe says after hearing AJ snicker.

"Mindjacking? Come on, Joe. You and her watch too many horror films." AJ says, absentmindedly rubbing his tired blue eyes.

At the same time, Finn headed back into Amanda's room and saw her asleep.

"No sign of her… which way did you say she was headed?" Finn says, Baron standing up.

"Didn't pay much attention. How's the mind jacking theory going?" Baron says.

"AJ's laughing his ass off about it, Karl and Luke said that Mandy needs to be taken off the Morphine." Finn says, Baron tucking some of Amanda's curls behind her left ear before heading into the hallway.

Being as careful as he could, Finn helped Amanda sit up before stretching out next to her, Amanda muttering incoherently and digging her nails into the palm of her left hand as pain jarred through her ribs and Finn leaning her against him and lightly stroking her hair as she muffled a pain filled cry into his right shoulder.

"It's okay… it's okay, no one's hurting you…" Finn whispered, Amanda's tense body going limp when she heard his voice.

The last time she was this tensed up, it was when Seth was in surgery for his torn ACL, MCL and Meniscus… and Finn remembered how terrified Amanda was.


	4. Chapter 4

_**11/5/15, Saint James Hospital…**_

" _She finally fall asleep?" Roman asks after he and Dean walked towards Finn, who was holding Amanda in his arms as both were stretched out on the tan leather couch in the waiting room._

" _He's still in surgery, they should be finishing up soon." Finn says, Dean seeing that under the concealer on Amanda's right eye that her eye was starting to swell, which fit the story that Baron had told him that Seth punched Amanda._

 _Dean tried to help Amanda sit up but she let out a low growl and moved closer to Finn, who's arms wrapped around her a little tighter out of_ _instinct._

" _She's not normally like that… hasn't been since the…" Dean starts to say._

" _Since the seizures…" Roman says, lightly nudging Amanda, who cracked her hazel eyes open and levelled a sleepy glare at him._

" _Romhanach, lig dom codladh!" Amanda growled, Roman and Dean turning confused._

" _She's telling you to let her sleep… I've been helping her learn my native language." Finn says._

 _Roman nodded… but what woke Amanda up was a vase breaking and she turned, glaring at Enzo._

" _There's someone in a metal suit nearby!" Enzo says in a panicked tone._

" _Are you fucking crazy?!" Amanda_ _snapped at Enzo, Finn lightly rubbing_ _her shoulders._

" _Sorry. She only got about three hours of sleep." Finn says, taking Amanda away from there._

" _I really shouldn't have blown up at him." Amanda says, hissing slightly as pain jarred through her bruised back… before both saw a small figure in a dark metal looking suit with a purple visor. "I'm… seeing things, right? You see her too?" She asks._

" _Yeah…" Finn says, the figure noticing and turning towards them._

" _What was that one word we were taught as children whenever we saw something creepy?" Amanda whispers._

 _Acting quickly, Finn grabbed Amanda by her right arm and the two ran off, nearly knocking Dean down._

" _This is a hospital, not Madison Square Garden!" Dean yells, Roman seeing Enzo turn pale._

" _Enzo, you okay?" Roman asks, Enzo pointed down the hallway and Roman seeing the figure._

 _Stopping in the elevator, Finn slammed his left hand on the button and the doors closed, Amanda leaned against the metal bar and gripping it to where her hands turned white._

" _Did… it start chasing us?" Amanda asked between catching her breath, pressing the sixth floor button and the elevator starting._

 _A heavily sedated Seth was woken by a slamming door five minutes later, seeing Amanda and Finn as the two yanked the curtains closed, which confused him._

" _Why do you two looked spooked?" Seth asks._

" _Monster… hallway…" Amanda tries to say, Seth turning concerned._

" _Monster?!" Seth asks, everyone jumping as they heard the next voice, which sounded echoed through a computer and female._

" _Why am I a monster?" They all heard, seeing the figure stood a few feet away, the faintest outline of eyes visible through the glass._

 _Amanda screamed in fright and ran to the window, trying to open it but Finn stopped her._

" _What the hell are you?!" Seth yelled._

" _A living intelligent being like any one of you! Except that I don't jump to a monstrous conclusion when what's in front of me is someone who can't live without apparently 'being a monster'!" The figure says angrily._

" _Well, you've already frightened two people today!" Finn says, holding a shaking Amanda in his arms._

" _Did I do anything wrong? I was just stood there, they're the ones that saw me!" The figure says, looking down afterwards. "I'm really getting sick of this. Outcasted for something I can't help, I thought you people moved past that!" She says._

 _Shaking slightly, Amanda walked closer and the figure saw the dark circles and black eye._

" _I'm sorry…" Amanda choked out, the figure seeing pure exhaustion in her eyes._

" _I believe this is one of your symbols of forgiveness." The figure says, extending her hand out._

 _Amanda shook it, the figure looking_ _closer and scanning Amanda's emotions over the past 24 hours._

" _Your head's been busy." The figure says, confusing Amanda. "This visor can look at chemical and electrical traces, including those in the brain and body." She says._

" _It's… been a rough time lately." Amanda says, Seth looking closer and once again, seeing the swollen eye_ _but in a clearer mindset than he did_ _the morning after the bar fight._

 _Seth felt horrible now as it all flooded back to him..._

 **Present time…**

Amanda jolted awake, catching her breath and Finn seeing the look in her eyes… she was thinking about the figure they saw in Dublin last month.

"You think she's still out there somewhere?" Amanda asks.

"I don't doubt it… whoever or whatever she was." Finn says.

"Yeah. Probably shouldn't have reacted how we did at first but it was a rough night… everything just seemed to stand still after that match." Amanda says, Finn tucking some of her hair behind her right ear. "I wanted to slap Seth for that stunt… but you and I've done worse in that ring." She says, both seeing a breaking news report on Tv… and looking at each other as they saw cops trying to arrest the figure and countless vehicles badly damaged. "Well, fuck." She muttered, both seeing Enzo and Colin walk in.

"Twenty-seven cars crushed like cans!" Colin growls.

"What the hell happened back there with that… monster?!" Carmella screamed after walking in.

"Leah, could you not scream please?" Amanda asks, calling Carmella by her real name and Carmella glaring at the smaller woman.

"What? All she asked was that you not scream, she's had a rough night." Finn says, Carmella turning angrier.

"I don't care if she's 'had a rough night', there are bigger problems right now than someone who won't just-" Carmella growls.

"Are you the one who was punched, suffered five broken ribs and then thrown into a cage wall by an angry Samoan, Miss Princess Of Staten Island?! You've only been in the business for two years and haven't suffered a single injury, I've been in that ring for ten and have injured nearly every part of my body, some injuries repeatedly! You could've gone anywhere else today and yet you choose to come here and scream like a little bitch!" Amanda says angrily after standing up, Carmella trying to strike the injured diva but Colin stopped her and dragged her out of there.

"Why do you always have to give kiddo such a hard time? She's badly hurt, all she asked was that you not scream and you didn't need to go off and snap at Finn for protecting her! He's just looking out for her like a friend would!" Colin says, Carmella rolling her eyes at that last part… or to be specific, how the word friend was casually used. "What, you don't see a close, innocent friendship between them? What do you see?" He asks, her eyes narrowing at him.

"The hell is going on over here? I could hear the yelling all the way down the hall." Roman says as he walked over to them.

"Trying to get a straight answer from Leah after she charged into Amanda's hospital room screaming and then went off when Amanda asked her to stop, which is understandable from Amanda's part." Colin says.

"Except it's more of her craving his body against hers and less of an innocent friendship!" Carmella spat in a venomous tone.

In the room, Enzo kept the door closed and saw Amanda trying to stay calm as Finn held her… but Enzo could tell that Amanda didn't want to be in the hospital and walked over, lightly rubbing her right arm.

"Enzo… what exactly happened in traffic? With that… alien, if that's the right word to use?" Amanda asks.

"I really don't know how to describe it, kiddo. And you look like you're about ready to incite a jailbreak from here." Enzo says, which would've normally made Amanda laugh… but she didn't. "Finn, who stole her laughter?" He asks.

"Joe did I guess, when he slammed her to the cage." Finn says.

"Yeah… I'm gonna go find him, get a straight answer as to what's going on in his head." Enzo says before leaving.

"If you get killed, Liv will never forgive us." Amanda says before she looked at Finn. "I know you don't want me leaving here until I'm healed… but I'm going crazy. Can we head back to the hotel please?" She says, Finn helping her stand up and remove the cuff and I.V.

The traffic was at a standstill but at the hotel, Amanda changed into warm pajamas and her and Finn were about to eat lunch when a familiar voice was heard yelling.

"Help, she's gonna kill us!"

Amanda opened the door and Becky, Sami and Bayley ran in, Bayley slamming and locking the door.

"Who's trying to kill you, Becca?" Finn asks.

"Some crazy lady in a metal suit!" Becky says, seeing Amanda turn pale and look away.

"She's in the hotel." Amanda whispers, startling Becky.

"That's it, I'm calling the cops." Bayley says, picking up the phone but Finn stopped her.

"She's not dangerous." Finn says.

"Did you hear how frightened Mandy sounded just a second ago?! And how do you two even know this woman?!" Bayley asks.

"She was at the hospital last month in Dublin when Seth's knee was being fixed up… we freaked out then." Amanda says.

As Bayley was about to respond, the lights, Tv and heater shut off and Amanda gripped onto Finn's left hand, Finn wrapping his arms around her in a protective manner.

Blackouts were something that reminded her of her first concussion... but that was a long time ago.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Shorter than intended but it's a Finn/Mandy centric chapter.**_

 _ **Six weeks ago, Copper Jacks Nightclub...**_

 _Lovin Every Minute Of It by Loverboy played as Finn did a few more shots of tequila before crouching down to where Amanda was stretched out on the bar and left more light kisses and bites on her toned abdomen that had salt sprinkled onto it, Amanda leaning her head back and closing her eyes as she let out a soft moaning sound when he went lower._

" _What in the hell has gotten into those two?" Konnor asks with a slight laugh._

" _One too many tequila shots, a game of truth of dare and now I feel like we're in some sort of online X-rated video." Baron says before he saw Finn leaving light bites on Amanda's inner thighs before trailing his lips back up her again._

" _I'll say it again, the Demon King is a fucking lightweight." Viktor says with a chuckle, catching the unfolding scene in front of him on his phone as Finn took the piece of lime out of Amanda's mouth with his own and tossed it aside at the same time that Seth walked into the nightclub, also looking to unwind._

" _Doesn't seem to bother the Demon Mistress though…" Joe says as Amanda started running her fingers through Finn's hair… before Finn screamed as he was snatched off of Amanda, who ran at Seth but was grabbed by Konnor._

" _Damn it, let go of me! He's gonna hurt Finn!" Amanda yelled as she fought against Konnor but he maintained his tight grip on her even when she elbowed him in the face and Konnor screamed as his nose broke and he fell, yelling out in pain after Amanda punched him in the ribs._

" _Put your hands and lips on my Shield sister, huh boy?!" Seth growled, Konnor screaming again as Amanda grabbed him by his right arm and spun him around, launching the Ascension member part of the way across the bar before taking the tequila bottle and bashing it over the Architect's head, forcing him to let the Demon King go._

 _Thinking quickly, the Demon Mistress helped Finn up and grabbed her white leather jacket and Kiss: Hot In The Shade tour tank top and her and Finn left the bar as the bartender aimed a shotgun at them._

" _Well, that's the end of that party." Amanda says after shoving her tank top and jacket back on._

" _Yeah… but hey, plenty of other bars in this part of town." Finn says, the two leaving._

" _Told you it was a bad idea to come over here." Baron says, him and Viktor helping Seth and Konnor up._

" _And now I know why they say that messing with Mandy will get you seriously hurt!" Konnor says as he saw glass shards sticking out of his arms._

" _Fuck that! I've had it with those two!" Seth yells, about to chase them down but Baron stopped them._

" _Let them be… it's gonna happen, don't stop it." Baron says._

 _Seth let out a low, aggravated growl and the Lone Wolf shot him a look that meant to watch it or he'd hurt him worse… and Seth knew that Baron would._

 _He also knew that the Lone Wolf was right about the Demon King and Demon Mistress..._

 _It was just a matter of time..._

 **Present time…**

Black orchid scented candles were lit in the darkened room after Bayley and the others insisted on looking for the source of the blackout… leaving Finn and Amanda alone.

' _Of course… it just had to be the kind of scent that draws me close to her.'_ Finn thought, remembering how he didn't want to stop touching Amanda every time as of late… whether it was her perfume or body soap, it always had the calming scent to it.

"If I didn't know any better… I'd think Bayley was setting us up." Amanda says with a slight laugh as she turned to face Finn when he walked over to her, the orange glow of the tiny flames bringing out the amber tones in her eyes as she looked up at him.

Being as careful as he could because of her injured ribs, Finn lightly pressed her against the wall with his left hand on the middle of her ribcage, his thumb brushing against her sternum as they looked at each other… before his right hand was resting on her neck and he leaned in, the two kissing.

Amanda wrapped her arms around Finn and pulled him in closer so they were pressed against each other as the kiss deepened… she could feel it, she wanted it as much as he did, he wanted to throw her onto the bed.

But while not as bad as earlier, she was still in pain… the medicine would only keep it held off for so long.

Amanda let out a pain filled cry after Finn had accidentally brushed against one of her broken ribs, Finn lightly rubbing her injured side to comfort her as the intense kiss finally stopped, leaving both of their mouths slightly swollen… and a thin trail of blood down Amanda's mouth.

"Damn, Mandy… I'm sorry, I should be gentle with you…" Finn says, Amanda's hands trailing from his hips to his torso.

"I'm okay… I want more but I'm…" Amanda says in a whisper.

"Hurting… and I made you bleed…" Finn says quietly, brushing the thin trail of blood away.

"Not on purpose… we just got a little carried away, Finn." Amanda whispered, the two kissing again but it was more of a lighter kiss as he brushed his mouth against hers in an attempt to make the blood disappear before pressing his forehead against hers.

"You're right… Bayley set us up." Finn says, soft laughter escaping their mouths as they kissed again before he pressed a napkin to the still bleeding cut on her lower lip.

Finn tossed the napkin and led Amanda to the bed after her mouth had stopped bleeding, carefully pulling her into his arms and both holding each other as they took in the calming atmosphere of the candlelit room.

They would keep it quiet for just a little longer though… they had to help free Joe's mind from the mind control after all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Meanwhile…**

Heather's senses shot off like a gun in her mind as she wandered through the snowy streets, the mind control from Catrina starting to falter on her… running to a nearby phone booth, she ran into it, slipped a quarter into the slot and called Matanza.

"What's going on over there?" Matanza asks.

"Catrina's mind control might've backfired… on one or both of her targets." Heather says, seeing that her bracelet was glowing a purple black shade, the same color as the candles.

"Interference?" Matanza asks.

"Of the romantic type." Heather says.

"Might be a problem, might not… I'll have to let Catrina know, little one." Matanza says before the two hang up.

"Careful, Matanza… she's a terror when pissed off." Heather says quietly before leaving.

She had to find Amanda and the others and quickly.

At the same time in the Temple, Matanza walked out of his room in his sleepy haze to find Catrina… it was just after 3 in the morning in California, he didn't like being awake this late.

But he had to be.

"Come on in, Matanza." Catrina says, opening the door after he knocked on it.

Matanza walked in, seeing the lit candles.

"You sensed it too?" Catrina asks, Matanza looking at her. "The whole " _Will they or won't they?"_ was dragging a bit… but new love is new love. Still won't stop me from going through with my plan on Joe." She says.

"Mind jacking him and using him to harm Mandy when she hasn't done anything wrong? You said it yourself that you requested your release from the company!" Matanza says, Catrina motioning for him to sit down and him doing so…

 _ **6/28/12…**_

 _Amanda turned after feeling fingers tap her right shoulder, seeing Maxine._

" _They don't really have any more plans for me… I'm gonna pursue other options." Maxine says._

" _Damn… I'm sorry." Amanda says._

" _Don't be… they seem to like putting faked out blondes on screen better than anyone realistic. Though Maryse would disagree but that's because she never really let her bitterness against you go… you've done groundbreaking things here, Mandy. I see you as a future hall of famer." Maxine says, Amanda smiling… but the older woman knew it was a sad smile. "Maybe one day… they'll forget all the bad and remember the good he did for this business… Chris would be so proud of you." She says, Amanda choking back a strangled sob as the two hugged._

" _I just… miss them so much." Amanda says as they let go, brushing her tears away._

" _It never truly goes away… I better get on going. Take care, Mandy." Maxine says._

" _You take care too, Maxi." Amanda says, Maxine leaving._

 _In her car, Maxine tried to stay calm… but Catrina was growling to be let free as the dominant personality._

" _Shut it… she's innocent, leave her alone." Maxine says lowly as she drove away._

 _The silent response from Catrina was eerie… too eerie…_

 **Present time…**

"My mortal side… never held any grudges, repressed them. Little Mandy… the poster child of two merged sides, angel and demon. And she's played both perfectly while hiding that she's less angel and more demon." Catrina says.

"So when you saw how she reacted to the Demon King…" Matanza starts to ask.

"It was a chemical explosion between them… like a three ring circus and five alarm fire. The fire burned slowly between the two… but it's sparked to higher heights now." Catrina says with a bit of her barely hidden anger out... before her eyes widened and she gasped out.

"Please, help me! She's gonna kill Mandy!" Maxine pleaded, Matanza's eyes wide with shock.

Torn between decisions, Matanza chose one of them and helped a numb Maxine stand up after blowing out the candles before they headed to Dario's office.

"Fair warning… there's a strange box in the place that we're heading to." Matanza says, Maxine nodding as she hung onto him.

At the same time in London, Amanda opened her eyes and realised that she had fallen asleep against Finn as he also woke up… both looked, the power still out and candles burning slowly.

"There's something wicked about these candles… I don't remember falling asleep." Finn says before he and Amanda kissed… before the lights and Tv turned back on.

"You think they're spiked with something?" Amanda asks as they sat up and blew the tiny flames out after letting go.

"Maybe… but the candles burning in the darkened room… set the right mood for us." Finn says as Amanda sleepily readjusted her navy pajama top and they kissed again.

Finn's hands lightly clenched the waistband of Amanda's pajama pants as he repeatedly kissed her neck while she reached for his Balor Club shirt… before both heard a knock at the door, pressing their foreheads together and smiling slightly.

Finn headed to the door and unlocked it, opening it and letting Becky, Bayley and Sasha in as well as Karl, Luke, AJ and Baron.

"Were we interrupting something?" Baron asks, noticing the still lingering black orchid scent.

Amanda lowered her head to hide her blushing face, Baron chuckling before he looked at Bayley.

"What? I can be wicked at times." Bayley says innocently.

"Well in this case, it worked perfectly…" Baron says.

At the same time in his own hotel room, Joe flipped through the channels… before jumping back as a flash of charcoal and purple started appearing, Joe recognising the form of the figure as a woman.

"You…" Joe says, the woman nodding.

"Call me Talora." The woman says. "And I need a place to hide, I just broke out of jail." Talora says, Joe's eyes widening in shock.

"Jail?!... How'd you end up there?!" Joe manages to ask.

"I inadvertently… caused the pileup that happened earlier…" Talora admits, stopping Joe when he tried to lift up the visor on her face. "Best not to do that… I'll explain later. You need help with someone." She says.

"Someone I hurt badly…" Joe says, turning to Talora and starting to explain everything that had happened.

Talora listened… and she knew that she couldn't let Joe mend things on his own.


End file.
